Illegal Addition Can Be Included In GLA For A FHA Report?

[CANative]

Cob... They (and I) are asking you "what is making this addition illegal or non-permitted?"

Is it area that is allowed to be there and just needed a building permit but didn't get one? Or is it an area that the City will not allow, permit or no permit?

 

[Mark K]

I've worked in some of counties where the zoning ordinance basically states that building without a permit results in an illegal use of the property.

Even if a room addition is normally allowed by the development standards, the lack of permit makes it an illegal use, not merely unpermitted. That bit of info is found in the permit section of the ordinance. In those cases, the term 'illegal' is appropriate for unpermitted improvements.

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

Some Quick Tips : CALIFORNIA ONLY :

1-When in doubt contact your Santa Ana-HOC and consult with one of their staff.
2-Remember FHA does not grandfather health & safety issues period.
3-Unpermitted garage conversions-can be ADU or guest if no health & safety issues
4-In the Extreme LA County Code Compliance Cities learn which ones and their guidelines.
5-City of Compton requires all non-permitted additions to be mitigated or permitted or removed.
6- Grandfathering Houses is fine- BUT-often Non-permitted uses cease when owner sells to new buyer.
7- Never use the word illegal because its definition in the Law Dictionary is something contrary to law or forbidden by law it can also denote illegal conditions or provisions which are contrary to law, including acts that are immoral or repugnant to the nature of the transaction. also when a reader or underwriter sees the word illegal it just effects their little brains in weird ways but when they see the word no-permit found or un-permitted area its not a big deal..

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"Illegal" as it pertains to conformance to current "legally permissible" uses -- distinct from the permitted/unpermitted dichotomy, as JGrant points out -- is that the pertinent dichotomy -- "illegal" versus "legal non-conforming" -- often is obfuscated when the latter term is used as a catch-all despite that retrospective compliance on the date of construction must be determined for the distinction to be properly addressed.

Also, I'm wondering whether peer appraisers who feel that issues such as "insurability" are beond the typical scope of work opine that an appraiser who is aware of the potential downside of a non-permitted improvement , regardless of the type of loan, are required to report the issue, in order to create a fully credible report.

Regards.